My Friendly Neighborhood: The ANTI-Mascot Horror

GET THAT APRON at / charlatanwonder
Hey so I know I'm supposed to on vacation but I played My Friendly Neighborhood when it launched and loved it so much I just had to make a video about it! It's like the opposite of a mascot horror game where instead of taking a cutesy thing and applying horror stuff to it, they take the elements of a survival horror game and apply it to a cutesy thing! Also it's a ton of fun in general.
Here's that cool article about egg wash substitutes I found pantryandlarder.com/egg-subst...
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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
1:35 My Friendly Neighborhood's Gameplay
6:53 THA SPOOKIES
10:34 Cooking Segment - Simple Weeknight pasta
16:41 My Friendly Neighborhood Story and Worldbuilding
18:59 Story Explanation (SPOILERS)
22:06 Final Thoughts on My Friendly Neighborhood
23:45 Cat video - L O N G Lad on the move
25:25 When the Immersive Sim plays YOU!

[@montanajackson3713]

I love how instead of the usual “Human/Children souls trapped inside puppets”, “Rogue animatronics” or “Brought to life via black magic” trope, they give us the “Muppets/Roger rabbit” trope where living puppets and humans coexist.

[@foongern1071]

We can take the Roger Rabbit trope even further when we consider the puppets are viewed as PROPERTY and simultaneously left to rot by the city broadcasting network.

[@Jakepearl13]

And instead of them just being evil,they just lost their innocence after the war instead

[@JamesJome123]

I’d say FNAF started the whole thing, I don’t get the hate for it in recent times. I’ve seen people say “meh, it was never good”, it reminds me of the whole Bendy thing last year. Everyone loved it, then everyone said it was always bad, now everyone loves it again, weird.

[@urdeadnotbigsuprise7439]

​@@JamesJome123Cause peoples are incapable of thinking themselves, they form their opinions based on majority.

[@LadyBern]

​@@JamesJome123it wasn't that it was always bad but that FNAF wasn't that well thought out/planned given it just wasn't thought out at all. It just got built on as it went on. Because of this when people stop hunting for lore and start paying attention to how the story was told you can see where SC came up with ideas, scrapped them then did something else. Bendy was again not that well thought out, most of the chapters were about introducing characters (perhaps for merch) than tell a comprehensive story. It's like they had the start and the end figured out but not the middle. Heck they had to make a sequel that was heavily influenced by BioShock to explain wth happened in the first game.

[@jackcouch8322]

No deep lore for youtubers to theorize about, no overly disturbing shit for kids to get desensitized to, no obnoxious consumerism bait, no bullshit. Just strait up, wholesome, bioshock/resident evil puppet fun.

[@Noelle_Holiday]

Yeah, I'm getting tired of indie mascot horror games shoehorning "convoluted lore" to attract MatPat. Having the puppets simply be alive for the sake of it rather than being failed experiments of some morally ambiguous corporation and/or possessed by dead children felt more of a refreshing spin on the formula itself. Not only it's a great Survival Horror and Mascot Horror mix, but also a family-friendly goofy experience with actually serious and sad undertones, so it's appealing not only to toddlers and young children but to any demographic.

[@sirbill_greebi3811]

@@Noelle_Holiday Think that if there's going to be *D̷͉̳̏E̸͉̋͑E̴͈̯̍͠P̵̯͑E̶̩̞̔S̶͖̟̽T̶͓̠̈́ ̷͊ L̵̗͉̈́͝Ȍ̸̰̩̕Ř̵̹̚E̶̦̽* the game's story needs to be great and satisfying without knowing the deepest truths. Perhaps indie horror can have it both ways.

[@deathsyth8888]

_"LOOOOORE!"_ - MatPat

[@mosshivenetwork117]

True. Pretty okay and doesn't have to be scary or deep or anything. Simple.

[@torinriley7569]

​@@sirbill_greebi3811good example of that would be Dan Mullins' games. Pony Island, The Hex, and Inscryption are all games with very fun and interesting stories, and they also each have a deeper ARG layer there for the fans to dig into for further elaboration on the background, though none of it is necessary to understand the broad strokes of either side of the narative.

[@nado1908]

Something you missed. If you help EVERYONE, you get a slightly different version of the ending where you stay where Gordon stays for good.

[@CharlatanWonder]

Yeah I knew I was supposed to get the glasses on the bird but I just couldn't figure out *how* to do that. :(

[@nado1908]

To be fair, the game gives zero indication you can put the glasses on the bird and how to do it.

[@FloofPuppy]

It harkins back to puzzle horror games of Resident Evil. Dunno how to figure it out? Look up a strategy guide, look up online or talk to a friend on the playground!

[@wolfrun89012]

if you still don't know you just have to wait till she sticks her head under her desk

[@334yopf]

​@@nado1908they do kind of imply that the bird can't really see, but they could have done a better job to be fair

[@michaelkolano8686]

I always had the idea that the puppets aren't actually dangerous, they just accidentally push Gordon over, and his bad back flares up hard, and he passes out from that

[@tessfabled4115]

I know some of them literally just hug you too hard haha

[@toastedprocastinator]

considering the actual lore, this actually somehow makes sense lol

[@arthurdurham]

I think they're just so excited to finally interact with a person that they just can't contain themselves and hug him too hard.

[@pteroid11]

It feels less like Survival Horror than Survival Slapstick. And I say that as affectionately as possible.

[@TheNo1pencil]

That's a very funny way to put it

[@fearjunkie]

MFN feels like a gateway for the mascot horror crowd to get into proper survival horror.

[@Cubeytheawesome]

Yeah. I do have a few ideas for mascot horror games. One of them is a bit satire, but it probably won’t be bad on purpose. I might use elements from survival horror too.

[@cowabungaitis9319]

Or just good games with a real written story in general

[@mysterystainontherug6290]

That may be true for some, but the real gateway will be growing up and having more brain development.

[@RushWheeler]

Yeah, this, Choo Choo Charles and The Upturned are great for the Mascot-Survival transitioning phase

[@Eldrich09]

Fun fact: this game was created by two brothers, yep. But not only that, there’s a third brother, and that brother happens to be David Syzmanski, AKA: DreadXP, the creator of Iron Lung. I guess game development runs in the family.

[@bepisthescienceman4202]

Alternate dimension Euphoric brothers

[@Gatorade69]

Yeah, Charl says that in the review. Plus his name isn't DreadXP it's David Syzmanski. DreadXP is just the publisher of David Syzmanski's games.

[@Eldrich09]

@@Gatorade69Of course I don’t think that’s his actual name, either way, I’ll edit the comment.

[@blockytheblock1]

@@Eldrich09 DreadXP is the publisher, David Syzmanski is _not_ DreadXP

[@justarandomguy983]

Euphoric brothers if they were good:

[@Noelle_Holiday]

My Friendly Neighborhood is essentially what Bendy and the Ink Machine (alongside Poppy Playtime to some extent) should have been in the first place, and I absolutely loved it.

[@user-mz9xo3hx1h]

Bendy is just fine how it is

[@Fangria]

​@@FarflungClownimagine you set a timer that will link you back to this comment later, anywhere as short as a week to as long as a year, long enough to look back on it with fresh eyes, now ask yourself if you sound like a prick. do this for every comment you make until you realize how you make yourself sound to others

[@Cr3zant]

@@Fangria Says the guy making the most pretentious self moralizing comment possible.

[@Fangria]

@@Cr3zant girl, but point taken. my whole goal was i set myself the task of "is it possible to get someone who says mean things on the internet for no reason to understand how dickish they look in a way thats harder to ignore than just calling them a dick?" i think its important when trying to send a message to be unique, as it makes it less likely your point will be ignored.

[@user-xi5tp4pi6c]

@@FarflungClownIf you have only tried batim (bendy and the ink machine) i suggest you get batdr ( bendy and the dark revival) which is the second game in the series and is infinitly better than the first. Here are SOME improvements in batdr (potential spoilers for batdr). 1 better story since this time they carefully planed it out instead of just doing what the theorist say or change it for no reason unlike batim (in batim they only knew the start and end of the story and it shows). 2 amazing visuals and graphics. 3 although you hit things just like in batim you can upgrade your weapon and give it more damage and new abilities such as shock (bassicaly damage over time) and quicker fire rate, also you get new abilities such as teleportation called "flow" it allows you to teleport to other side of rooms, helps you climb walls and get over massive holes in the ground (bassicaly get to any area on your screan) and you can use another teleportation abilitie which allows you to backtrack to any previous floor/room really helpful if you want to 100% it and finnaly you can stealth kill enemies so you can play like solid snake and gain HP from it. 4 it has an extreamly nice performance even for my 5 year old gaming laptop ( better than batim) so if your pc/laptop is newer than mine you should be able to run it flawlessly. 5 the enemies have better designs and work differently but most of all bendy can attack you from any point on the map except a few spots or you could hide or crawl in vents ( also if it gets to easy for you, you can activate an optional secret enemy which randomly appears in front of you and charges into you). 6 more charming npcs and they brought back every previous batim character some of them give you the previously mentiond abilities. 7 they ad better bosses. 8 almost no bugs on lauch. 9 you can enable an optional cristmass theme added post launch for free. 10 you get an adorable baby bendy companion (you can beat the ever loving snot out of him if you want). Ps sorry for bad english its my second launguage.

[@tepig2828]

With Mascot Horror becoming an over saturated genre, it was only a matter of time until something like this came out that breaks the mold. I’m just glad it is high quality and hope it serves as an inspiration for other survival horror game devs.

[@dirtpeanut1820]

It breaks the mold and hands you, an umbrella.

[@Cubeytheawesome]

It sure has for me.

[@UndiagnosedGarbage]

I'm more the idea that it'll be less the current Mascot Horror formula of well broken up into chapters, have to piece all the lore together, etc etc. An more what MFN did, a return to form with how survival horror is meant to be like, but still with the Mascot horror element evolving as well.

[@derple8524]

@@dirtpeanut1820 more like Gunbrella, ayo. But no seriously I'm looking forward to Gunbrella, sorry for the cringe

[@Techhunter_Talon]

The thing I ultimately like about this game is the twist. What is it? (Spoilers below) There's no evil entity or influence making the puppets all crazy. They are the way they are because they were exposed to a harsh reality through television and this merely shattered their innocence, and even drove some of them completely mad. It's something completely mundane and easily understandable with no further explanation required. What they need now, as Ricky puts it, is a guiding hand to help them heal and move on past what they were exposed to.

[@Impalingthorn]

I do really love the twist because it feels like a deconstruction of the typical crap like with later FNAF games or the period of internet Creepypasta where everyone uses that same formula of "Take something innocent from your childhood and twist it". The game spends a good long while accommodating you to how childish and silly these puppets are before slowly but surely tearing that away and showing just how much of an affect their cancellation actually had on them, especially after they saw what they were replaced with. They're like children that got exposed to adult content too early and are trying to find a way to process and digest that in a healthy way, and they're just too immature to do so. On that same token, the moment where they become their edgier darker selves gives full context for what was lost. Unlike FNAF, you get to know and understand exactly why people loved these characters and they are believable for that reason, which makes their corruption hit harder because it feels wrong. Not even scary, just wrong. Makes you appreciate the childish stuff in your life and remember that not everything has to be super edgy and dark, sometimes Sesame Street by itself is fine, it doesn't need to change; the people around it are the ones changing.

[@erictheepic5019]

@@Impalingthorn >I do really love the twist because it feels like a deconstruction of the typical crap like with later FNAF games or the period of internet Creepypasta where everyone uses that same formula of "Take something innocent from your childhood and twist it". It's funny, because this game uses that formula too, but doesn't have to resort to macabre or otherwise outright disturbing themes to do it. As both you and Talon said, all it uses is an unhealthy dose of reality. Part of the transition from childhood into adulthood is watching stuff that you used to love as a child turn sour in some way (be that cancellation, corruption, or controversy), as well as seeing things that you either won't have been exposed to or that your naïveté would've once covered. Each individual thing might only cause a small pang of sadness that soon fades, but to be bombarded with all of it at once like the puppets were would turn anyone mad.

[@pteroid11]

Hell it even explains some of their more disturbing monologues: They're trying to emulate what they saw but don't have a proper context for it so it's all colored from their perspective. Further Ricky's plan feels so much like a kid trying to like do something to heal a depressed or hurt adult, like presenting a little picture and hoping that'll somehow help matters.

[@Exotac]

The puppets aren't really "crazy" at all. They're just lonely and confused. They've been abandoned for so long that they don't remember how to behave around humans. This is even shown partway through the game when Gordon talks to Ricky and mentions "He's lucky he hasn't been hugged to death." The puppets aren't even trying to attack you during the game. They just don't realize they're literally hugging you dangerously hard because they're so happy to see a tangibly, living human again and have forgotten how fragile we are. There's allegory to be had there too, I'm sure. The puppets never really changed, the WORLD changed. The world "lost its innocence" and the puppets desperately tried to comfort it in the aftermath. They recognize the darkness in humanity, but rather than seeing it as a problem, they just saw it as part of who we are. Part of what we need to manage. It's why the "unfriendly neighborhood" didn't work out. When a few of them TRIED to change, desperate to find any way they could to reach us again, it broke them. They were simply incompatible with the kind of "darkness" that humanity was producing in the aftermath of the war. They wanted to help us, but we didn't let them. We shut them out, we locked them away. But they never stopped trying. They never gave up on us. There are SO many parallels to the story in the game that can be drawn to the real world. From the most obvious one of the state of the world pre and post Vietnam War, to more modern connotations like the post-mid-2010s division that has ravaged the western world, to more simple concepts like the state of modern children's entertainment and the incessant desire for it to be "more" than it really needs to be. The game sets every single element up for there to be that "big supernatural twist". Be it some evil cause of the puppet's sentience, or at least some possible justification for it. Instead, the twist is the opposite. There was no malice behind the show's return. The fact it was doing things like playing over the news was just an innocent mistake due to their lack of understanding with the equipment. One last time, they made a play to break through to us again. To help us. And that was all they ever really wanted. To remind us that no matter how dark the world gets, sometimes what it really needs just to remember how to be good neighbors. I'm enough of a man to admit that it hit me pretty damn hard when you read the last letter from the founder of the company near the end. When you really find out that's the big twist. That there was no evil other than OUR evil. A well intentioned studio run by a man who just wanted to teach kids to not give in to the darkness of the world, and his goofball living puppets that love everyone in spite of everything they do. But WE shut them out. We've become so accustom to living in the dark that the sight of the light can be uncomfortable, and we pass that discomfort on to the next generations, blissfully unaware of how much damage we're really doing in the long run.

[@shcdemolisher]

Couldn’t have said it any better! :)

[@lexcentrique2554]

It's even very funny to see that My Friendly Neighborhood has a reverse philosophy on the thing. Instead of being twisted versions of mascots that you have to run from, you get lonely and confused mascots that you CAN fight back against. Like, in most horror games nowadays, you just have nothing but your pants to defend yourself with, and now, that very trope was completely thrown out of the window for a more Resident Evil approach.

[@derple8524]

Nothing entire wrong with the one hit kill enemies we get in most games both it's refreshing to see something like this

[@skunksafella7754]

Honestly This game is refreshing It's simple, fun survival horror that doesn't scream in your face

[@GitraSilvermane]

This game is so damn good. Also, little tip. If you have a key and notice it has a check mark next to it, that means you've used it in all the palces you can and you can now discard it. Helps save some room when you need to carry a lot of stuff like the 4 felt masks.

[@spacebearcadet746]

There's a bug with that, specifically with items used for optional objectives (befriending the puppets, obtaining the conclusion). The check mark will help you complete the story, but there's no hand holding for the best ending.

[@New3DSLuigi364]

huh. . . Letting you know that you've done all you can with a particular Item; so you're NOT Screwed if you DO decide to discard it. . . BRILLIANT IDEA; Why don't MORE Games do that?!!

[@ceroscentauri7045]

I learned that the hard way on my first playthrough til' I made it past the Park and Kennel area. Had to facepalm myself upon realization.

[@vaehtay]

I’d be cautious, though; last I checked this was bugged. I watched someone stream this day of release and they almost got soft locked from discarding a key that said it was used up when it wasn’t! (But this might have been fixed by now)

[@ceroscentauri7045]

@@vaehtay I never had that happen, but that’ll be something to look out for other runs just in case.

[@Mathee]

Another thing that helps this game stand out from the usual mascot horror trash, is the writing. Not only is the dialogue charming and funny, but this game has a story with actual themes and something it wants to say. I think that's what stood out to me the most; normal mascot horror is all about getting people to discuss lore and theories, but this game seems like it wants people to analyze themes and characters, which I really like

[@JamesJome123]

Which games do we say are trash.

[@derple8524]

@@JamesJome123 Hello Neighbor for me

[@macrofurra]

@@JamesJome123 fnaf 4 lol

[@This-is-a-commentt]

Even fnaf, the original (ish) mascot horror franchise eventually fell into that pit hole, as early as fnaf 4

[@joebobjohnson8179]

I initially brushed it off as mascot horror, but thank you for showing me the truth

[@SuicidalChocolateSK]

I did too but I got it anyway and it is definitely not some bs poppy playtime or FNAF bs, it is a very nice game.

[@JamesJome123]

@@SuicidalChocolateSKwhy is everyone hating on FNAF? What happened, is it cool to dislike it now. Security Breach wasn’t that good, but you seem to be talking about the entire series. A lot of people still play them, still like the lore. Is this the whole Bendy drama again, everyone last year was like “it was never good” because some KZbinr made a video saying it wasn’t ever good. Then a KZbinr made a video about Bendys genius, and everyone was like “it was always good”, I don’t get it.

[@JamesJome123]

@@namgge2612 I see the point, and I agree, people can have differing opinions. But saying people who like it aren’t socially accepted is very odd

[@JamesJome123]

@@namgge2612 agreed

[@derpfluidvariant0916]

I like how the scary section was just them trying to fit the mold of horror to appeal to the masses, despite being friendly good people at their core. It's like a kid putting on a strong face to show that they're "brave".

[@h-man7620]

I'm surprised this game hasn't received much attention. A lot of people are always like "Boohoo Mascot Horror has such bad games!" which yeah it does, but EVERY genre has Bad games. Even more annoying people only complain about the bad games but completely ignore games like My Friendly Neighborhood.

[@derpfluidvariant0916]

I think the reason why people make such a big deal about mascot horror games being bad is because even the really poorly made ones rake in ridiculous amounts of media attention and players, at the cost of games like my friendly neighborhood. It's like how poorly made "adult" shows get negative press for using up funds that could've been used for other projects people actually wanted. The issue with that is exactly what you said. It still attracts attention to the bad game rather than the lesser known good ones.

[@wakkaseta8351]

They're too busy fangasming over FNAF ruin "fixing" all of Security Breach's flaws by just falling back on all of the Mascot Horror cliches.

[@derple8524]

@@derpfluidvariant0916 Well Said, I tip my hat to you (Literally), I too was like this at some point until I found games like Tattletale, Doki Doki Literature club, Choo Choo Charles, One Night At Flumptys, My Friendly Nieghborhood, and much more to discover. So yes while the most attracted Mascot Horror games are bad there are so many amazing Indie/Mascot horror games that have yet seen the light of day cause people wanna focus on what's popular instead of what's actually good and creative

[@eemo.revengee]

​@@derple8524HOLY SHIT, TATTLETAIL WAS GREAT (imo)(also I agree)

[@wispisang]

I find it super interesting because the game has a whole thing of saying “People like darkness more than they do the happiness of the neighborhood” when up on the antennae and I feel like that really applies here. A lot of people are more interested in seeing something dark, gruesome, and edgy than they are this nice little story about helping these puppets overcome their issues. Like I personally don’t think the game is scary at all but thematically that makes sense, because these puppets aren’t scary monsters who want to kill you, they are misguided little guys who legit want to be your friend but have trouble expressing it in a safe way. Some people find them unsettling, and there are of course people who find the game creepy, but I feel like being scary isn’t the point of this game. It feels like more of a commentary on the genre of horror than anything. It’s not exactly a “good” horror game but it IS a good game and a good piece of art. A lot of people aren’t interested in the game because it doesn’t look dark and edgy, they don’t give the game a chance simply because they don’t see any value outside of the spook factor. People are more interested in seeing fucked up things than a heartfelt story, and to each there own but is that not just a little bit fucked in itself?

[@Asas_TV]

Wow, i don't like to compare reviewers but you did this game way more justice than other reviewers. Giving just enough detail and explanation while also leaving it vague enough to be intriguing. It's a reason why I love your reviews.

[@MatthewCampbell765]

I haven't finished the video yet, but I'd say that with Mascot Horror there's two ways you could create a true antithesis to it: • Mascot Horror often works on subverting things that are supposed to be friendly. For example, the Animatronics in FNAF. So, what you can do is have blatantly freaky monsters that are actually friendly. Like, imagine if The Nemesis from Resident Evil was actually a friendly, gentle giant. • Another thing that defines the Mascot Horror genre, I think, is the dark twist on childhood. Again, going back to Animatronics, they're something you probably remember from your childhood that was, in hindsight, a bit creepy. Likewise Furbies or old Cartoons. So, what you do for a spiritual antithesis is you make a horror game about adulthood. For the second concept I did once have an idea that I think would work. You get a fantastic new job at an office building, great pay, great benefits, your boss is pretty chill. However, everyone else works remotely, so you're in a dimly lit office building all alone by yourself. You discover, also, that your company has somehow managed to piss off a cult and/or a supernatural entity that intends to take out their anger on you, specifically. Your employee is giving you hazard pay though, so it's worth it. The gameplay, hypothetically, would probably be a cross between Tower Defense, Stealth, and Office Simulator. You start each day setting up turrets and other structures to defend yourself, then you have to do paperwork and such while the bad guys try to get past those defenses. Occasionally you have to leave your desk to go to other parts of the building too.

[@pixels_per_minute]

I made a comment on a recent video from another creator talking about the downfall of mascot horrors, and a point I made was to clarifying that with all the bad actors within the community, the genre still has great potential - we just need the right people to shepherd it forward, and I'm glad to say that the team behind My Friendly Neighborhood are some of those people. They took all the exploitative aspects of past mascot horrors and threw then out the window. It really is in anti--mascot horror, at least in terms of what we've come to expect from them.

[@JamesJome123]

I blame Garten of BanBan and Poppy Playtime, nothing else really did I this.

[@derple8524]

@@JamesJome123 Hello Neighbor

[@mercury5003]

If youve attempted unfriendly mode you might have already figured this out, but if you attack a puppet with the wrench before they spot you you can infinitely stunlock them keeping them from moving

[@derple8524]

That is sick, an additional move locked behind higher difficultly is a great idea for other games

[@mercury5003]

@derple8524 oh it works on all difficulties. Its just that in unfriendly mode you're kind of stuck with the wrench so you're sort of encouraged to experiment

[@derple8524]

@@mercury5003 hm, interesting. I'm definitely gonna watch some gameplay and see all this game is. Glad a game like this exists, another game to add to the list of "Mascot horror isn't dying, you idiots just pay too much attention to the bad ones" list, it's filling up very fast

[@FandomLurker]

It's something I noticed in recent fnaf where the devs purposely leaves things vegue or unfinished/unfair story wise to keep conversation going. With MFN the conversation is just on the game itself and not the lore. It's really nice to see in what feels like a really long time to talk about just how good the game is.

[@JamesJome123]

The lores fun to deconstruct, what can I say?

[@FandomLurker]

@@JamesJome123 oh ye, I love it too, wouldn't be a fnaf fan if I wasn't lol. It just gets exhausting after 10yrs and I'm wanting something simple for a change.

[@JamesJome123]

@@FandomLurker mmm, agreed, hopefully Help Wanted 2 isn’t too confusing

[@shisn0598]

Just a little thing unrelated to the review but it’s great and reassuring to hear someone say that it’s ‘art’ and not ‘content’. Makes me fee a little better about what I do and I’m sure it helps others too. Thanks sauce man.

[@jeremieh5009]

same! helped remotivate me to keep writing

[@andreworders7305]

If I was a repair dude I’d decide this was above my pay grade and leg it out of there. Gordon is very committed to his job.

[@evanrutledge-sz4yo]

More so he’s forced to do it or he’ll get fired, if not thrown in jail

[@deathkingZa7799]

You can in fact just leave after you reached one of the first locked room

[@izzfitri6888]

That is actually one of the endings. Secret ending in fact.

[@crossf2351]

"I know this seems like a lot, but dish can be prepped and cooked in 30 minutes!" We lead very different lives.

[@sirtacovi3262]

For real, if I make a dish someone says can be prepped in 30 minutes, it's a 3-hour affair that I will not be mentally prepared for again for at least another month

[@wakkaseta8351]

* Rachel Ray has entered the chat *

[@andreworders7305]

This seems like a perfect game for me. I’ve always wanted to try Survival Horror but I’m a wimp. This removes the scares and mainly leaves the survival as far as I can tell. What platforms is it on?

[@odeiofunkdeputariarum851]

Currently PC on steam i think

[@newbiegamelover4767]

New here, and I can't believe I'm adding a game review to my Cooking Recipes playlist. Also, I'm honestly glad to see someone subverting the "child-friendly-turned-horror" trope that's be plaguing the internet ever since the rise of IP based creepy pastas. The idea was cool for a while, but in recent years, the novelty really has worn off. It's gotten to the point where you expect to see the bunny's house to be filled with bloody corpses! Now we finally have a wholesome version of this trope, where the once child-friendly characters have become violent, but there's still hope that those characters can be brought back to their child-friendly selves again!

[@krisbies]

as a diehard RE fan, i am so glad we are still getting genuine survival horror among the waves of Garten of Poppy Breach bullshit

[@derple8524]

"Garten of Poppy Breach bullshit" this made me laugh

[@krisbies]

@@derple8524 lol thanks

[@SwaggyG_2102]

My Friendly Neighborhood feels like what would happen if the people behind Bioshock decided to make a mascot horror game some day.

[@DuncanGrimm]

You know, I will say this. I love the "content stuff" you say. As a writer sometimes is nice to have someone remember you that .

[@RingshadowCat]

I'm really enjoying lets plays of this game. I loved watching the demo and watching Jacksepticeye process being told to swallow his hands. Since that moment in the demo I knew this was something special and damn if that's not right. This game is a delight.

[@KaiBurley]

A+ cooking segment and I appreciate your closing "content" speech every time. Thanks Charlatan!

[@TheDarkEnigma]

Im hoping and praying this eventually comes to consoles. I only have xbox myself but i absolutely love this games style and aesthetics. Ita also an interesting thought to think that the character your playing seems to be the reason your even taking damage with his anti hug mode. And that you can get along with certain puppets makes me think anybody else could actually do the job with next to no difficulty by comparison. I wanna just sit and listen to them babble.

[@a.rustici1972]

That speech at the ending about how art is an expression of the self was very uplifting. Thank you, I feel happier after hearing that.

[@unoriginalblu]

I love that the reason why the puppets are so "unfriendly" is because of mainstream TV of the 90s. It's like if you told a kid santa isn't real and he decided to start trashing the neighborhood.

[@DanielleGomesdaSilva]

I love how it randomly cuts to him cooking food

[@perryborn2777]

Yknow, I like seeing your cooking segments in the middle of the videos, please never change that, but you should also put your cooking tutorials up in standalone videos for quick and easy reference. I've made some of your recipes before, but I can never remember which videos contain which recipes, so standalone videos would be a huge help

[@PigBoy99]

My favorite thing from this game was a joke review saying to remove jumpscare since it scares their kid Someone replied with a link to purchase Balan

[@BiggestNoodle]

Some games i really wish i could buy. But with the uncanny nature of the turkish economy and inflation its impossible.

[@FrahdChikun]

As a Bioshock fan, I definitely want to give this game a try. I've been interested in it since it's reveal at Realms Deep 2021. Also saw a playthrough of the demo and honestly it's exactly what one would find in a survival horror game, except the horror is replaced with comedy. There's also a few other reasons I want to play it: 1. Arlo's in it, very fitting to have the game essay puppet voice a puppet 2. Hakita, the guy behind ULTRAKILL, praises this game and highly recommends it 3. David Szymanski played a huge roll in this game's development. I'm a huge fan of the stuff he worked on (DUSK, Gloomwood, Iron Lung). UPDATE: Finished the game recently, and I loved it! Definitely gonna replay it again.

[@derple8524]

I didn't know Arlo was in it, Now I definitely need to check this out

[@centurosproductions8827]

Perhaps the best part is that this protagonist has actual sense, and can just leave early. Sure, he gets fired, but thats a small price to pay to avoid creepy puppet BS.

[@moonielivee4836]

this game has the best thing no other horror game has, emphaty, you beat you challenges with empathy

[@yaggolfly]

It was canncelled due to the selfless messaging, a point reiterated throughout the games newspapers and bits ofdialogue is people think that being selfless is a horific thing to do and even makes a somewhat compelling argument about it while painting these people as being bad. Its almost a centeral theme for the game

[@thc_freebaser]

Usually I think a game needs to be scary to be considered survival horror

[@hulkkkhogan]

Ikr

[@ceroscentauri7045]

19:43 is pretty much what happened with my livestream, only with the Shooting Gallery & Rec Room music played in the background instead. Fair warning to anyone reading, some third-party company will go around claiming they own that song. It's not public domain, but the song doesn't belong to them. Besides that bleak warning, good write-up on the game!

[@abigailfoster9732]

Praying this comes to switch because, Minus the Zombies, this feels like something right up my Mum's street. She grew up on The original Resident evil games and they were her gateway to her favourite horror media being Zombies. Which makes me fear that it'll turn her away from this game but i'll try.

[@jblockminermc5401]

I started the my first play through in survival mode and actually found there to be way to much ammo, especially once I learned how op the wrench can be. For those that are confused about the wrench being “op” here’s why: The wrench despite its look and design isn’t a true melee weapon, it actually has range. Turns out if you have line of sight with the puppet and it’s in range it will deal damage and even stun them (sometimes you can hit around corners though). This is supposed to make up for the puppets reach but in reality it opens up a lot of opportunities for cheese. Example: in the “red light green light” room you are intended to walk around the shelf and kill the puppet using ammo to get a bit of ammo but if you abuse the wrench you can actually kill the puppet through the shelf to get the ammo for free. That’s just one of the examples of the wrench’s power and as soon as I realized that i began looking at the environments in a different way.

[@CanadaWho42]

I watched a couple playthroughs and had a similar thought - that rather than being a dark, twisted take on something seemingly innocent and childish, this game flips recent trends to be a sweeter, more lighthearted take on survival horror games

[@kaiyotee2475]

4:59 i love this line so much

[@austinmorrison6953]

SPOILERS The golden ending is even better. Gordon stays to hell the puppets and ends up losing his repairman job but he doesn’t care. The show rises back to popularity and Gordon talks about how it feels like walking out of a long dark tunnel to see the sunrise.

[@smallmistake]

No lie, when I saw the trailer for this game last month, I thought, "looks cool, never gonna play it, can't wait for Charlatan Wonder or Civvie 11 to do a video on it."

[@fafnirray]

was surprised (but delighted) at the sudden switch to a cooking segment. looks super yummy!

[@aruce9]

By not explaining the horror the game opens itself to saying some really profound things. No lore no dead kids are the puppets, it’s refreshing.

[@recycledfelines]

thank you so much for the alternative ideas for egg wash, I live in a remote coastal town in Oregon and its $$ still for eggs, took me down a rabbit hole!

[@wisecrack3461]

John is amazing, y'all should check out the other games he's worked on such as Rubber Ducky and the Rainbow Gun or Kyle is Famous

[@TheJarDude412]

its sad in a way. the poor puppets left behind, without anyone to help them, slowly withering away as the years go on. one day, someone finally shows up, and they don't realize they are harming the person.

[@caffeineaddictedguitarist7550]

When are we getting the Charaltan Wonder horror game?

[@purpleblah2]

From the darkness you hear "BUT CHAAAAAARRRRRLLLLLL"

[@finalninju6021]

He's gonna put us in the big soup xD

[@deathsyth8888]

(deep from the shadows) "Meow... MEOW... MEOOOOOW!!" - Monster Frisk, demanding to be fed before attacking

[@deadgirl1172]

Found you because of recommendations, stayed because of the cooking segment and cool personality

[@andreworders7305]

17:36 oh neat, a Sam & Friends reference in the last paragraph. So it’s definitely a Jim Henson analogue. Though apparently without the appeal to adults aspect.

[@andreworders7305]

4:39 lol, they sound like a Muppet, that’s a perfect imitation.

[@lostsanityreturned]

"Honestly on survivor I wasn't even hurting for these coins, but then again survivor isn't even the intended difficulty for the game, you have to play through it once to unlock it" Unless it is a weird easy mode that unlocks after beating the game that is a bad thing. You are saying "oh hey I had heaps of this full heal resource on the unlockable hard mode"

[@getsomepeps9552]

I think he meant you had to play through survivor once to get the intended difficulty? I dunno though, I'm probably wrong lol

[@goober2832]

Loving the cooking segments as always.

[@R1GHTS1DE]

as someone who's first video of yours was this one I wasn't expecting a cooking tutorial mid way through

[@entothechesnautknight1762]

I'm a little sad you didn't get around to the true ending, because I really loved how the true "good" ending wasn't about the puppets needing Gordon, but Gordon realizing he kinda needed the puppets. Each of the major "boss" puppets mirrors an aspect of Gordon that he's clearly not had anyone to talk to about and had to deal with entirely on his own, until he finally met the puppet going through what he was, and simultaneously both guiding them through his own experiences and being shown by them that there is a better way through these emotions together, as a community. As a neighborhood. When he's finally been able to vent a little about everything to people who were not only willing, but needed to listen, he realizes that maybe he doesn't need to just. Disappear because he stopped "being needed" by the puppets. Because they still care about him, and he still cares about them. The world of MFN is a late stage capitalist hellscape in the middle of its corporate conglomeration phase, and Gordon's been put through the wringer of it, both in his time as a handyman and his time as a soldier. Hes the kinda guy who's spent nearly his whole life deciding his worth based on him being "needed", and the moment he wasn't, he was tossed away. Fat load of good that metal did him, seeing as all his time as a soldier got him was a crappy apartment with a shitty job. So much gratitude from his bosses, who fired him the moment they figured out he was helping MFN ger back on the air. The "true" ending isnt good because the puppets get back on their feet. Its good because Gordon's finally letting himself have some value outside of what someone needs outta him. Its the best ending because just like im those old shows, not only did he teach the puppets some lessons, they taufht him one too. Anyways that ramble aside excellent recipe this time around, its one ive done before and honestly its a favorite.

[@SawedOffClown]

Havent seen your content in a while but glad your still making great stuff as always!

[@arkhamknight050playz8]

Amazing Video as always Charl! Hope Haloween in July has been awesome after the Truama of redfall.

[@Lord_Asshat]

Really loved today's cooking segment. Thanks for some egg alternatives as they're still expensive where I live.

[@derple8524]

Choo Choo Charles is also a great Horror Mascot game, not to the standards of this game, but I think it does pretty well on it's own

[@monkeychief1904]

23:10 Dang this little bit about “content” really hit me. Also Great video!

[@ThunderComplex]

6:34 no peeing around corners? :(

[@plaguedocvirtue]

I like you, Charl. You're a great artist on YT. Keep up the great work! The cooking segments are always nice to see too, as I myself like cooking once in a while.

[@KirbySmasher48]

ive never seen your videos before, and the fact that just half way through you put a recipie in was really cool to me. i love to cook and bake, and i had been thinking if i were to become some kind of review channel i would want to put tips on growing things such as tomatos, peppers, oregeno ect ect. just too see what happens, glad to see im not the only one who thinks this kind of thing

[@dragongod140]

I vibe with the cooking sesh! Keep up the great work!

[@blindgirluk1845]

Hello sir! This is the first video of yours that i watched and i LOVE the cooking segment. Although I wont be following this one because im a pescatarian, but you've earnt a new subscriber.

[@CharlatanWonder]

hmmmm, come to think of it, it's been a while since I did something pescatarian or vegetarian. This year's Halloween in July's been very red meat-centric.

[@pouncelygrin6699]

DUDE!? You got a cooking segment?! What the heck, that made me hungry xD

[@MrZomboman101]

Iv been following the development of the game for ages now, its such a great game

[@jimclark5750]

I like the cooking segment, it’s quite pleasant and unique.

[@hydroxide7372]

I heard about this through promo from Kyle is Famous. I’m not a horror person but the exploratory adventure bits sound interesting and I love to see a game like this that hasn’t succumbed to the common mascot horror tropes that are all too common nowadays. Thanks for the short review and I may put it back on my radar. Unrelated but your cat is amazing. Give him lots of pets

[@samanthampreg]

i cannot believe this is just a really good resident evil game made by one guy

[@MrPwner911]

This has been the year of horror games NGL

[@Goop946]

Ive been watching this game for a long while and Im so happy it delivered

[@GigasGMX]

i haven't played it yet (I'm too busy with pikmin 4), but the only thing that seems like a problem is that the animation for the wrench attacks don't seem to visually match up with the attack's actual range, which leads to players getting too close to the puppets and getting grabbed.

[@falkonsinger]

If you want your breading more sticky to the Meat, you can use a Kirchen hammer with Spikes for it.. Also when you Put it in baking powder and soy sauce, "massage it in"(dont know an english term for that) and let it sitt for an hour or two, it will get much more tender Inside... And yes, I missed the rest of the Video to Tell you that...

[@schizophrenicgaming365]

i already watched hbomb's video on this but your way of making videos is so entertaining i'm 100% cool learning about shit i already know

[@Kingofthe_sandwich]

The Heath bar should go like the ABC Amazing Beware Caution Dead

[@gekopu]

I had completely forgotten that I was watching an MFN review because I actually considered making that

[@FloofPuppy]

This sorta spooky game called to me and I'm glad I gave it a shot! Probably one of the only good horror games in a LOOOOONG time!

[@geileskind64]

I just finished the game the other day and i totally loved it, i don't hate mascot horror games since stuff like Bendy and the dark revival are really good examples of being done well but then there comes some poppy playtime type of game that has fans theorizing for MONTHS when a trailer will drop which is insane..

[@jordans7271]

What if they hid in closets , kitchen cabinets (like they were playing hide and seek and jump at you) had puppets thats legs got messed up so they crawl at you . Maybe even a room of defective puppets with eyeballs missing and stuff , that would be terrifying lol

[@andreworders7305]

It’s got the RE door animations!

[@AurraKo]

i love your videos man

[@ZetaPrime77]

Bro this video was great to begin with BUT A COOKING SEGMENT? DUDE I'M SOLD!

[@avocadokin]

i get scared to easily for most horror, survival horror included, but this seems like a good place to try it out to see if i like the gameplay, ill have to check it out :]

[@nobbymcnobs8721]

It would have been so easy for the devs to just make all the puppets some lore bait possession shit, or sequel baiting the fuck out of the game, or not even finishing it just to get the kiddies interested ASAP. It -would- have been so easy. But they made the best horror game in a while.

[@darienb1127]

So i honestly do like the idea of Mascot Horror. The main problem is that everyone saw FNAF and was just like "Ooh, we can make money too! (Bendy Dark Revival is pretty good though.) This game acting as a subversion is interesting because we haven't really done all that much with Mascot Horror in the first place (thanks to people only seeing it for profit.) I genuinely believe that there's a lot you can do with Mascot Horror still and there's a lot of different narrative potential that's been unexplored. Maybe this game will game will give people the swift kick in the ass they need to actually try and improve upon the format instead of just trying to profit off of it.

[@brecfrazier8634]

Tbh the cooking segment got you a sub

[@devilbowser253]

this game is a nice breath of fresh air from all of the horror games that try to be as spooky as possible, its just silly (also arlo is a voice in it)

[@my23bear]

Omg the fuggin "TOOOOOTATLEE is not" cliché😂 lmfao

[@Kruku666]

wow first time i hear about this and i think i'm sold XD

[@Memegutter-ib7qp]

This is the fucking best. Thanks for making this video.